The Power of Second Chances

It’s hard to believe that Patrick ever had a first chance. At the Alliance Breakfast in 2016 he shared the story of his life. He grew up in a family of drug abusers as role models. When he became an adult, he himself predictably struggled with drugs, addiction, and homelessness. He was fortunate to enter Alliance Housing in August of 2015, living at 2011 Pillsbury. Living there, he could save some money, due to the low rent. Eventually, about a year ago, Patrick moved from 2011 Pillsbury to his own Alliance studio apartment.
We caught up with Patrick recently, to see how life is going now that he has a studio apartment. Although he had use of the kitchen facilities at 2011 Pillsbury, there was no convenient storage for his food. Patrick lived on the third floor, and after a long day of work, he was too tired to go up and down the stairs to make dinner. Hence, Patrick had been “eating out every single meal”, which isn’t healthy, and is very expensive. He would generally wake up and leave for work, and just come home to sleep.
Now that Patrick has his own kitchen, he proudly stocks his fridge, cooks in large quantities and stashes the leftovers for the future. Sometimes he even brings his homemade lunch to work. He relishes the sense of independence he gets from taking care of this basic need for himself. He eats out far less, and when he does, thinks of it as a luxury, not a necessity.
What has Patrick done with the money he has saved by not eating takeout for every meal?
One of the reasons for Patrick’s homelessness in the first place was addiction, caused by trying to find a way to soothe his chronic back pain. Now, with the money he saves by eating at home more often, Patrick can afford massages. So instead of self-medicating with illegal drugs, Patrick is using massage to treat his chronic pain.
Also, one of Patrick’s passions is music. He plays guitar, bass, piano, and drums. And he sings. Until recently, however, he was distracted by his own “horrible singing.” With the money he is saving by eating at home, Patrick is taking singing lessons. He uses the words “spiritual” and “edifying” to describe how it feels to find his own, better voice.
All this from simply being able to prepare his own food in his own Alliance home.